Love and Sex Among the Invertebrates

by Pat Murphy

The bombs have fallen, and the world as we know it has ended. In her final days, one robotics engineer works to ensure that life will go on, constructing the creatures that will inherit the earth. New times are coming. The future echoes with the rattle of metal claws. A short story.

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction

9 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 1990

About the author

Pat Murphy’s latest short story collection is called "Women Up to No Good," a title that describes Pat’s attitude in general. Pat writes about strong women who are not afraid of making trouble.

Pat's fiction has won multiple awards for her science fiction and fantasy works, including the Nebula Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Philip K Dick Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Award, and the Christopher Award. Her latest novel, "The Adventures of Mary Darling," is a historic fantasy -- a subversive take on Peter Pan (with a side helping of Sherlock Holmes). It will be out in May 2025 from Tachyon Publications.

Reviews

[Carolyn F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as part of the anthology Alien Sex: 19 Tales by the Masters of Science Fiction and Dark Fantasy

A sad story about a scientist who tries to create new life before humans die out. Loved it.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great story from Pat Murphy! This one is a little bit somber - kind of like with Bones and how that had a few sad places. This story is about a scientist who is exposed to a lethal dose of radiation during a nuclear war. Now, she is slowly dying due to this exposure to radiation and wishes to leave something behind.

Before the bombs fell, she worked for a company constructing service robots; however, she had studied biology and decides to build the next step in evolution. Using parts from her lab and some random pieces of metal, she builds among other creatures an pseudoscorpion and so on.

One of the most interesting things with the story is that it is told from a first person perspective, however, we don't learn the main character's name until quite late in the story. Katie tells us about her quiet and secluded life, and how it made her into the person she is.

I like how Katie brings in descriptions from the natural world regarding animals she studied and then, how she describes the construction of the robot animals, their habitat, and behavior. I thought the ending was great!

[OpenBookSociety.com · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Sammy

Just the synopsis and title grabbed me, then when I saw it’s a short with only nine pages and that it had gotten a great review, I had to read it for myself.

Let me first state the obvious, it’s a super fast read! But, wow the author really got this short story right. The ideas, thoughts and “Animal Planet” descriptions were perfectly balanced. It takes a lot of skill to make a story this compact feel complete and the author did that.

I highly recommend this short story for anyone that enjoys well written, sci-fi with interesting questions that make you think about how things could be. I will definitely be checking out some of the other stories Pat Murphy has written

http://openbooksociety.com/article/lo...

[Beli · Rating 4 out of 5]

La vida sigue.

[C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite sci-fi short stories of all time. I read this over 20 years ago, and I still think about it. It packs a wallop in just a few short pages. Definitely worth your time.

(I can't even tell you when I read it, it was so long ago).

[to'c · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's always treat to read anything from the imagination of Pat Murphy. I don't know if this is a warning tale, a depressing one, or one full of promise. But it will hold your interest!